Find Your Level

Part 1: Listening

1. If someone gives you an appointment in French, can you understand the place and the time of the appointment?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
2. If someone described to you in French the location of a building in an area or neighborhood with which you are somewhat familiar, can you understand where to find it?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
3. If you phone a friend and someone else answers in French, can you understand what you are being told about your friend’s availability?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
4. From the content of a discussion in French, can you determine the psychological state of the participants (anger, sadness, happiness)?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
5. If you overhear a conversation in French between two people, can you tell whether those two people know each other well or not at all?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
6. If you were asked for your opinion in French in an opinion poll, could you understand enough to be able to answer most of the questions?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
7. Could you correctly identify the situation of a French dialogue recorded on tape; for example, the likely role of the person speaking (friend, boss, store clerk, etc.), the topic, and where the dialogue is probably taking place (restaurant, bank, on the street, etc.)?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
8. When you listen to the news on a French radio station, can you understand most of what is being said?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
9. When you watch a movie in French with a lot of dialogue, can you understand enough to determine what the story is about and each of the main characters’ role in the story?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
10. Can you understand spoken humor in French, including refined plays on words?
    I cannot do this at all
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
11. Can you distinguish French accents, identifying whether the speakers are from, for instance, Quebec, Europe or Africa?
    I cannot do this at all
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
12. Could you fully understand a lecture given in French on a topic with which you are familiar?
    I cannot do this at all
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time

Part 2: Speaking

1. When meeting someone for the first time, can you respond to greetings in French and introduce other people?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
2. In a restaurant, can you order in French?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
3. Can you speak about yourself to others in French, giving details on your family, your job and your home?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
4. Can you express your feelings in French in a given situation (happiness,sadness, anger)?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
5. If you are shown a photo or illustration, can you express your thoughts about it in French?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
6. Using only French, can you organize an activity (party, outing, meeting)?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
7. Without advance preparation, can you make up a suitable ending if someone gives you the beginning of a story in French?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
8. During a chance meeting in the street, can you easily and fluently carry on a French conversation about your everyday activities?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
9. Can you engage in a discussion in French about a film?
   I cannot do this at all
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
10. Can you discuss in French the pros and cons of taking a vacation in Europe?
    I cannot do this at all
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
11. Can you talk in French about the aesthetic values of a work of art?
    I cannot do this at all
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
12. Can you change your speaking style in French to suit the situation you’re in (i.e., formal style with strangers; informal with friends; relatively formal with colleagues)?
    I cannot do this at all
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time

Part 3: Reading

1. Can you understand the gist of an illustrated French-language movie poster?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
2. If the menu at a restaurant is written only in French, can you select items knowing what you’ll be eating?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
3. If you were given a series of written descriptions in French and several pictures, could you match them up?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
4. Can you recognize the usual conventions people use in different writing situations, for example, on a postcard, an email, an invitation, or an office memo?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
5. From an interview written in French in a newspaper, can you understand the thrust of the answers and draw some personal conclusions from the content?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
6. Can you skim a two- or three-page passage in French and find the details that you need in order to answer specific questions?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
7. When reading an article in a French newspaper, can you pick out the most important information you need in order to summarize its content?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
8. If in reading a passage in French you come across words you don’t understand, do you attempt to infer the meaning from the context?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
9. If the paragraphs of a French story were presented to you in the wrong order, could you put them in the right order to make up a logical sequence?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
10. If you were handed a 4- or 5-page story written in French, could you read it without consulting a dictionary more than two or three times?
    I cannot do this at al
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
11. Do you know written French well enough to be able to spot mistakes and misprints in the text?
    I cannot do this at al
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
12. Can you read poetry in French and appreciate the subtleties of the language?
    I cannot do this at al
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time

Part 4: Grammar

1. Can you answer if someone asks you in French for your address and phone number?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
2. Can you use the appropriate interrogative expressions in French to get the following information about a meeting: where, at what time, and why?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
3. Can you correctly place the object pronouns in French? For instance, could you translate this sentence into correct French? “He gave it to his friend.”
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
4. Can you use the future tense in French to tell someone where you will be spending your vacation?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
5. Can you give someone directions in French using the impératif verb form; for example, how to find the airport in Burlington?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
6. Can you tell someone in French (using the conditional form of the verb) what you would like to do if you won the lottery?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
7. Do you feel comfortable using the subjunctive form of the verb when speaking French?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
8. Can you recount a past occurrence in French, appropriately using the passé composé and the imparfait to accurately situate events in time?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
9. Do you have the vocabulary in French to make comparisons, for example to compare two books you’ve read?
   I cannot do this at al
   I can seldom do this
   I can do this about half the time
   I can often do this
   I can do this all the time
10. Can you recognize the passé simple of the verb when you read it?
    I cannot do this at al
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
11. Do you feel at ease when choosing from among definite articles, indefinite articles, and partitive articles?
    I cannot do this at al
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time
12. When speaking French, do you know how to use the different forms of lequel?
    I cannot do this at al
    I can seldom do this
    I can do this about half the time
    I can often do this
    I can do this all the time

Scoring

• Part 1 – Listening :
• Part 2 – Speaking :
• Part 3 – Reading :
• Part 4 – Grammar :
• Total

Your skill level is:

48 – 64 total points:  Your suggested course is A1 101

65 – 112 total points:  Your suggested courses are A1 102 or A1 103.

113- 160 total points:  Your suggested courses are A1 103 or A1 104.

161 – 218 total points:  Your suggested courses are A1 105 or A2 101.

219 – 240 total points:  Your suggested course is A2 102. Or you could try one of our advanced conversation classes.

The classes associated with each range are a general suggestion only.  The guidance of our Education Director or other staff members, based on talking with you about your experience and needs, is the most important part of the placement process.

For class information see our classes page or inquire directly using our handy contact form.